A Good Kid that Nobody Wants to Watch
by RainbowDitoo
Summary: Just a little oneshot based on headcanons. Robin's dad Micah is having some trouble looking for someone to look after Robin while he works. Lucky thing Clay just so happens be there. Aka Robin attaches himself to Clay.


Clay knew he shouldn't be snooping in on Merlock's conversations. It was rude, for one, and it was also an invasion of privacy. But he couldn't really help being curious. There was a new lead mechanic in the castle who had a six year old son. Who, for some reason, nobody would watch after while his dad worked.

Was the kid a terrible menace? Or was something wrong with him? It was, for a lack of better phrases, intriguing. Clay peeked around a corner and watched as Merlock spoke to the new mechanic.

"-Ridiculous, really, that nobody else wants to watch him while you work, Micah." that was Merlock, "He looks like such a wonderful kid!"

A sigh came from the other man, who ran a hand through his hair. It looked greasy, and his eyes had thick bags under them from lack of sleep. Clay wondered if the job of checking up on all the castle's inner workings was tiring. He would assume for now that it was.

"He really is Merlock, honest. A-and I dunno why- I mean, I _guess_ with all the things that need to get done around here-"  
"Nonsense." Merlock cut the man off with a wave of his hand, "Don't give them excuses. There are plenty of people I know who are perfectly capable of watching the boy, but are too selfish to do so."

It was then that Clay noticed a pair of hands holding onto the mechanic's pants. And then, a pair of scared, wide eyes. Clay stared.

"You're probably right, Merlock, but I can't just be rude straight away. It's-" The man stopped with a frown and looked down at the kid holding onto him, "What's wrong, Robin?"

The kid didn't say anything, only scooted further behind the man's leg. Merlock followed his eyes, and Clay shrunk back as Merlock's gaze landed on him. He prepared himself for a good natured scolding, but it never came. Instead, Merlock walked over and lead Clay out into the open with a smile on his face.

"Clay, my boy, why didn't you just come out and talk? You're not bothering anyone."

Clay shied away from the mechanic and the little kid behind him, but tried his best to sound sure of himself.

"I didn't want to interrupt... "

Merlock chuckled and patted Clay on the back, "Well, thank you for being considerate, I suppose." he turned to the other man, "Ah, Micah. This is Clay. I adopted him from Dnullib a few months back. He's ten, about to be eleven."

Clay fumbled with his hands for a second, unsure of what to do, before sticking one hand out to shake. The man, Micah, gave an incredulous chuckle before shaking Clay's hand.

"Really now. Wouldn't think you to be the kind to go out adopting kids. It's a pleasure to meet you, Clay. This here's Robin."

Micah took half a step backwards, and the kid behind his legs was revealed. He had bright blue eyes, which were still wide and scared, and his hair was a sort of strawberry blonde. His face, like his father's, was absolutely littered with freckles. Clay figured a hand shake would be awkward, so he instead waved. Robin gave half a wave back, his eyes scrunching up and going from scared to confused. Micah laughed, and Merlock shook his head. Clay couldn't really see what was funny about the exchange. Maybe it was an adult thing.

Merlock leaned down and put a hand on Clay's shoulder. He had that weird, sad look in his eyes that he got whenever he had to leave Clay alone for a while. Clay frowned.

"Clay, do you mind watching Robin for a little while as me and Micah talk about some other things in private?"

Clay looked at Robin, who was slowly coming out from behind his father to watch Merlock, and nodded.

"I can do that," Clay said, "How long are you going to be talking?"

Merlock shrugged and stood back up, glancing over at Micah for a brief moment. He ran a hand through his long, grey beard with a frown.

"Hopefully not long," he settled on saying, "But I trust you know how to spend the time. Show him around the library, if you want. It's up to you."

"Yup," Micah said, finally joining in on the conversation, "Robin loves reading, and I've heard that this library has _loads_ of stuff."

At the last phrase, Micah turned his gaze to his son, smiling as Robin's face lit up. Robin let go of his dad's pants and shifted from one foot to another.

"Does it have Ned Knightly?"

Clay blinked at the first thing Robin had said since he had shown up. Ned Knightly? Of course there were books on the savior of the kingdom in the library, why wouldn't there be? He looked at Merlock, confused, but the old wizard only shrugged.

"Probably," Micah replied, gently nudging Robin towards Clay, "Clay'll show you around. Go on."

And just like that, Robin was latched onto Clay as if he were an extra limb. Clay stumbled slightly, but somehow managed to stay standing. Micah laughed loudly from where he was standing.

"Well shit, looks like he likes you, Clay. Congrats, only about two people including yourself can say that Robin likes you."

Clay blinked, and awkwardly patted Robin's back in a strange attempt at a hug. Luckily, Robin didn't seem to mind the general awkwardness of it.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Clay said slowly, "I'll show you around. It'll be fun, hopefully."

"No, it _will_ be fun. Trust me."  
Clay looked up at Merlock as he said that, and smiled. Right, this would be fun! He gently detached Robin and held his hand, starting to lead him towards the entrance to Merlock's library.


End file.
